Trump budget fails to live up to ‘historic’ defense promises, analysts say

Transportation Department faces cuts under Trump budget

Fear of DoD struggles grow, amid vacancy levels not seen for 50 years

﻿JPPSO-MA Provides Shipment Forecasting Data

The Mid-Atlantic Joint Personal Property Shipping Office (JPPSO-MA) located at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia has provided IAM a spreadsheet containing information on all shipments currently in their database which will be awarded in the coming months.

The plan is for JPPSO-MA to update the spreadsheet on a weekly basis so that the industry will have the ability to do some shipment volume forecasting for the entire JPPSO-MA area of operation (AOR).

IAM will continue to post the updates on our website as soon as they become available on a weekly basis.

Hopefully, this is just a first step in the DOD providing information that can be used as forecasting tools. In the past, the only tools provided have been historical data which the industry would then use as a baseline to try to predict what future shipment volumes may be. This is one of the first attempts to try and provide the industry with specific data on the number of shipments that are available to be awarded in the future.

Both IAM and JPPSO-MA welcome your feedback on the value of this information to your organization. The hope is to continue to refine the information so that it will become a valuable tool for industry.

Sources: JPPSO-MA & IAM

﻿SDDC Makes Base Access Information Tool Available

The SDDC has issued an advisory stating that Personal Property TSPs may gain access to the Transportation Facilities Guide (TFG) by logging into their Electronic Transportation Acquisition (ETA) account and then clicking on the "Request Additional Applications" link on the left of the horizontal menu bar. TSPs can select Global Freight Management (GFM) as an additional application and then choose the "Carrier-TFG Only" user role.

For more information on requesting additional applications, contact the ETA Help Desk SDDC Help Desk at (618) 220-6904 or SDDC G3, AMSSD-OPT-P, at (618) 220-6529.

Note: This access guidance does not preclude installations from implementing random access measures.

The Department of Defense (DOD) issued a reprieve for Foreign National users of DPS needing to obtain a Digital Certificate before a previously announced date of May 6. For some time, an exception has been in place that allowed foreign nationals to access DPS without the required digital certificate. However, as the deadline approached IAM brought forward to SDDC all the roadblocks that were in place to prohibit foreign nationals in many locations from being successful in complying with the mandate.

On May 3, three days before the deadline, SDDC issued a reprieve. The requirement for foreign national users of DPS to obtain digital certificates was placed on hold. However, this is not a permanent situation. SDDC is trying put implement processes to overcome the current problems experienced with foreign nationals obtaining digital certificates.

Companies in overseas locations, needing to obtain the digital certificate, should continue to work toward achieving the requirement. Please communicate with IAM and SDDC regarding any of the barriers you face in trying to complete this process.

Blackout Reminder

If a TSP wants to black out a single day, then the TSP must enter the day they want to black out plus the next day. The DPS will not recognize the next day as a blackout.

If a TSP wants to black out multiple days, then the TSP must enter the multiple days plus the next day. The DPS will not recognize the last day as a blackout. If the TSP does not add a day, the last day entered will not be recognized as a blackout.

The DPS looks at pack dates and the pickup date to determine a TSP's availability. Pack dates aren't entered by the customer; instead they are populated by the DPS based on the estimated weight entered in counseling. If any day is open during a projected move (pack through pickup), the system will award the shipment.

Basically, the TSP community should enter their blackouts and add a day because the DPS will not recognize the last day entered.

SDDC recently provided IAM a copy of the Change of Ownership Worksheet that they provide to prospective buyers and sellers of DOD approved Transportation Service Providers which are going through the Novation process.

Any parties interested in either buying or selling a DOD TSP should carefully review the worksheet as it provides a checklist for all of the paperwork that might be requested by SDDC during the Novation process.

Register Now – Annual Meeting Early Bird Discounts end June 9

Special early bird pricing for the IAM Annual Meeting and Expo ends on June 9. This is a 10% savings off regular registration and more than 20% savings off on-site registration. Governing members enjoy the early bird rate regardless of when they register. Save the extra fees and register now.

Sources: IAM

Lawmakers again push for more flexibility with military moves

Lawmakers will try again to give more military families flexibility in their permanent change-of-station moves with a pair of bills introduced recently. The Military Family Stability Act, sponsored by two Democrats and two Republicans in the House and Senate, would allow families who receive move orders to either leave up to six months before their servicemember’s assigned date to set up their new home or remain behind six months to ease the transition.

Trump budget fails to live up to ‘historic’ defense promises, analysts say

The first Trump administration budget plan fails to live up to the president’s claims of a “historic” defense increase, and will likely meet stiff resistance on the Hill for what analysts say are unrealistic plans for cuts to non-defense spending. Details of the fiscal year 2018 budget, released to reporters Monday evening, also confirm an increase in nuclear weapons funding and changes to foreign military aid, as previously reported by Defense News.

Trump Budget Said to Include $200 Billion for Infrastructure

President Donald Trump will propose spending $200 billion in federal funds over 10 years to spur investment in the nation’s infrastructure, a senior Office of Management and Budget official said. The administration’s aim for the funds, which will be part of the budget proposal Trump plans to release on May 23, is to provide incentives for at least $800 billion of infrastructure investment by the private sector and state and local governments, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the plans were not yet public.

Transportation Department faces cuts under Trump budget

Funding for the Department of Transportation (DOT) and a number of popular transportation programs would be slashed under President Trump’s budget request. The fiscal 2018 budget proposal, released by the White House on Tuesday, would cut the DOT’s discretionary budget by nearly 13 percent, to $16.2 billion.

Fear of DoD struggles grow, amid vacancy levels not seen for 50 years

Pro-defense lawmakers have grown frustrated at how slowly the White House is moving to fill dozens of top-tier posts at the Pentagon, warning that vacancies are hamstringing efforts to advance the president’s national security agenda. The administration has advanced 13 of U.S. President Donald Trump’s picks for the Pentagon’s civilian leadership to the Senate, which has 53 key jobs requiring Senate confirmation. The Senate has confirmed five — Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson had been confirmed by the Senate and three mid-tier nominees — had been confirmed by the Senate as of May 25.